Are there skin benefits in dark chocolate?

If you’re looking to have healthy skin, but still want a sweet treat or have problems with sugar cravings: then you’re gonna like what’s coming next!

In this post we’ll be talking about eczema and chocolate, the benefits of chocolate, and why chocolate is a good sweet treat for those trying to quit sugar for their skin.

But first, in case you’re wondering…….

Why Chocolate?

Many people assume that chocolate is bad for your skin, or that chocolate can cause eczema breakouts.

However recently it’s been shown that the cocoa bean in itself is actually pretty harmless, and that the majority of people who experience eczema or skin breakouts while eating chocolate are usually reacting to two things:

1) Ingredients (found in the chocolate candy bar)
2) Histamine (only in a few: see more on histamine here)

I’m going to focus on ingredients in this post, because since histamine can be found in many other foods, it’s hard to completely determine if it’s only from the chocolate.

Ingredients, however, like high fructose corn syrup, wheat, dairy, soy, and chemical additives are shown to cause eczema breakouts. This is because these processed ingredients contain inflammatory properties, which over time can hurt our skin.

When people on the 30-day program ask me what sweet treats they can have, I usually refer them to dark chocolate as a solution to avoiding bad ingredients.

This isn’t just because it’s delicious(!), but mostly because the health benefits are so beneficial to your skin, especially in regards to quitting excess sugar: something crucial to clearing your eczema.

7 Skin Benefits of Dark Chocolate

1) Chocolate works with your gut bacteria to lessen inflammation in your heart. We’ve always heard that chocolate has anti-inflammatory properties, but only recently did scientists discover exactly why. A new research study presented found that digestive gut bacteria breaks down and ferments the components in dark chocolate, turning them into anti-inflammatory compounds which can help to lessen the inflammation in your cardiovascular system.

2) As I mentioned, one of chocolate’s other benefits is that it’s one of the only substances studied to reduce sugar cravings. In an controlled test with dark chocolate, participants were shown to feel more satiated, less hungry, and had lower ratings of eating more sweets after eating dark chocolate.

This is because cocoa is rich in fiber and protein which is far more satisfying to your body. Also, the healthy fat in dark chocolate (cocoa butter), is more rich and filling, making you crave sweet foods less!

3) Chocolate’s cocoa butter fat can lower bad cholesterol.

Studies have shown that the saturated fats found in cocoa butter can actually help to lower levels of bad cholesterol and boost levels of good cholesterol. This is great news, as good cholesterol is necessary for your skin, as it helps to build and repair damaged gut lining!

4) It protects your skin from drying out and sunburn.

The European Journal of Nutrition showed that consistently eating cocoa for 12 weeks reduced moisture loss in skin by 25 percent, resulting in fewer sunburns.

This is because cocoa boosts blood circulation to the fine skin capillaries in the top layer of your skin, helping them to draw more oxygen and nutrients to protect the skin against dehydration and burns.

5) It reduces stress hormones that can lead to collagen breakdowns in the skin.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s binged on chocolates before a stressful meeting or exam. However, if you’re doing it with dark chocolate it might not be that bad for you!

Cocoa has been proven to help reduce stress hormones. This is great for our skin, as less stress hormones means less collagen breakdowns and less wrinkles!

6) It can promote new cell growth with its antioxidants and minerals.

Aside from being full of antioxidants, chocolate also contains minerals like copper, iron and zinc, all of which promote cell growth. These minerals are especially important if you have eczema.

A study on dark chocolate showed that when cocoa was eaten with prebiotics, it could actually help to lessen the inflammation in the overall digestive system, helping you to grow good bacteria needed for healthy skin.

Eating chocolate with eczema is generally fine, and can even be beneficial to your overall gut

Now of course don’t go overboard! However, if you’re following my 30-day program, and are looking to get the most health benefits out of your sweet treats, as well as reduce sugar cravings or high blood sugar, then chocolate should be fine!

For healthy chocolate treats, check out some of my recipes by clicking the link below! These are all great for healthy skin, and the ingredients are easy to find.

• Lastly, if you want to eat chocolate without having an eczema breakout, make sure that you’re eating chocolate over 75%, that don’t contain any eczema triggers or high amounts of sugar. A good average is to try to keep below 20 grams of sugar per chocolate bar (100g).

Comments

I have had eczema for over 15years its got worse and worse as I have gotten older, I am absolutely loving all your tips I am going to start my 30 day programme soon as I get back home on Friday. And I for one can not wait to get started I am to the point were I will try anything. A lot of my rash is on my face and neck, but I do get it every were……anyway sorry to bore you with all that but could you list for me please the acceptable sweet treats you can have please as most girls I do have a mega sweet tooth and would love any advice you have to share to help me.

Living in an European country I am terribly suffering from Sunburn .last month came to notice that a red patch had appeared in my face and when consulyed my skin specialist got an advise to use olive oil.Unfortunately it didn’t worked fine on me.Now planning to use dark moulded chocolate on my face .Let me look whether any wonders happen on my face and let you know the result.

Oh boy, Sugar, dairy and wheat. This is what my diet mostly consists of. This is going to be hard for me. And, I am a big chocolate eater too but not of dark chocolate though i dont dislike it so will be trying to eat a couple of small pieces of an evening after my meal rather than go for the biscuits or milk chocolate that i crave after that meal.

So mine is all over my face but I too itch all over constantly. I have also tried tons of creams and washes and this last cream, for eczema, has now given me acne and my eczema has started weeping too. Any face cream burns so terribly and I am just so dried out.

I cannot believe that I came across your page- I was just Googling something regarding eczema and I am so beyond thankful as I would have never known any of this. All I have eaten is junk food and sugar daily.

I am 2 days into the programme and I am so excited about it. I trust you thoroughly and can’t thank you enough for what you have given the rest of us.

I just wanted to enquire about whether or not eating egg is okay. Many say that it is an allergy trigger but at the same time it is the protein we need.